Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of statements made by the Prime Minister of Mauritius on the Chagos Archipelago in the Mauritius National Assembly on 4 February 2025.

There has been a lot of speculation and incorrect reporting about the content of the deal, some of it related to inaccurate media stories following Prime Minister Ramgoolam's statements on 4 February. On 5 February the Mauritian government clarified these statements. As we have said, there has been no change to the overall cost of the deal or duration of the agreement. Both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos Archipelago which protects the long-term effective operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia.  We continue to engage with Mauritius and are not going to provide a running commentary on the details.